Nanimonai-P
by Octoya
Summary: After Camui is defeated in the data world, there's no point putting that body to waste, right? Rewritten and repackaged, he's given over to a new uploader, a producer who isn't anything. Being a Vocaloid now, he shouldn't cause problems and sing just fine... But as Rin proved in her own story, sometimes programming sticks. Based on the Putin-P series. Features multiple Vocaloids.
1. It's a New Start!

_Clink, clink._

Goes the rattling of tools against the metal hardware. A buzzing crack of electricity, too, goes and occasionally gives off a burn in the air beside his head. It's a quiet work environment, one in which those kinds of sounds can be heard and the smells experienced. A drill might start too, or an electric screwdriver, just to add a bit of another noise to the mix. It's enough to keep focus and get the job done.

After a while the last whirring from the screwdriver stops. The work is done. They move on to new work, then, zipping up the underclothes in the back and pulling the surcoat on over his head, tying off strings and attaching two empty sheaths in his belt. After the back and forth rustle of clothes were over, then that work is finished too.

From those robotic eyes a cool colored light was then emitted. In a new set of clothes, in new surroundings, with a new, more brightly colored wig glued down tight to his head, he was waking up. A light shined in his eyes and the lenses narrowed by impulse, his fingers grasping with no aim.

"Here we go. Good as fresh from the factory. That supplier gave us a lot to work with." The light-shiner stepped back and put the light away in his pocket.

"I sure appreciate this," muttering as he looked close, a thin and greasy young man cracked his knuckles into his palm. "And you're sure he's good as new, _in here_?" He tapped a finger to the side of his skull.

The other one laughed, wringing his hands. "Oh yeah, yeah. I've done this, like, three or four times before. Just, uh, be careful with him." Those robotic eyes closed again as he turned down a switch on the back of the neck. He wheeled the body into a shipment box.

By contrast, his grinning friend rubbed his together with a clap. "Great. He can stay with Meiko and Kaito."

While Camui Gackpo rested in the crate, he dreamed about Russia.

* * *

 **Author's note:** This is, as said in the summary, a fanfiction based on the Putin-P series by Numtack05. There was a lot of misconception and misunderstandings about this series, at least in the fandom at large, in large part because most of the fan translations were really terrible quality. The information in this fic is based on the story as detailed on the Putin-P wiki, which has updated, much higher quality translations for nearly all the songs and in my opinion a much clearer understanding of what the story is supposed to be. (The wiki can be found here wiki/Putin-P_Series_Wiki)

Some of this is also based on my own interpretation/headcanon of events that were never definitively shown in the story proper, like what happened to Gackpo after his defeat.

I apologize beforehand for not having an in-depth knowledge of Tokyo, where this story takes place.


	2. We're the Vocaloids of Nanimonai-P!

On Monday morning, covered in tape, a package arrived to the residence of Meiko and Kaito, a larger apartment that, nonetheless, wasn't really supposed to hold three people. Inside was a "new" Vocaloid, one that woke up covered in packing peanuts with the pre-existing residents looking him full on in the face.

The woman picked peanuts out of his hair, looking at him curiously while he stared back. "He's very purple." By the next moment, he had smacked her hand away and began to pick the peanuts off himself alone, eyeing the blue haired man sitting next to her on a low black couch.

"It would be like if you and me had a baby!"

As he stared even harder at the blue-haired man on the mention of a baby, the brunette held out her hand to the new guy in the house. "Nice to meet you, the name's Meiko. On the box it says your name is Camui Gackpo...right?"

He stared at that hand for a moment before reaching out, giving a nod. "Nice to meet you. Where is this?"

Meiko, her hand locked with his, pulled Gackpo up to his feet. The man dressed as a samurai stepped out of the box at last, kicking the rest of the peanuts off his purple person. "This is where we live-where you live, too. It's way easier for our uploader when we're all here together."

Beside him, the blue man was also holding out his hand, and Gackpo looked at it. "I'm Kaito." This so-called Kaito, only faced with the other's stare, began to stare, himself. Their eyes both narrowed, only for Meiko to come in between them with a holler, "Eyes off my little bro! No new guy is getting into his pants on the first day!"

"Ahhhh-!?" Gackpo jumped back, shoving into the empty box with a roll of packing material.

As if he was the purple one's reflection, Kaito jumped as well; surely his face would have turned red. "Mei-! Don't say things like that, you're going to give him the wrong impression!"

"I was just trying to ease the tension," Meiko turned as she spoke, walking into the apartment's second room. "You guys were getting so tense. Lighten up! We got a new roomie! Come on, roomie, come see where you're staying." Even as Gackpo kicked the box aside and followed her, Kaito remaining behind to pick up the mess, she continued on talking.

But Gackpo had to take a second, eyes scanning over the essentials of the next room. It had a lot of things; on the opposite side was a tiny fridge, a microwave, a tiny oven, and a sink, all on one narrow counter. Taking up the most space was a low table on the right side, and above that was a cupboard which seemed it'd be hard to reach without climbing on the table.

Looking down, there was a bottle of sake on the floor which Meiko plucked off and drank from; at her feet were two small futons, one with a red blanket and one with a blue. "Now, you were just standing in the living room back there with the TV. In this room is where we sleep, eat, make food, and drink. If you want some alone time you can go on the Balcony, to. ...I think, if we push the table back towards the counter, we can lay down another futon for you for when you get tired."

"If I get tired?" He couldn't remember much before coming here, but he didn't remember getting tired. Was that a new programming feature?

"Yeup. But we have to go shopping, first, since we don't have any."

"...He could do with a change of clothes, too..." Kaito was muttering behind him.

Gackpo looked down at his clothes. The Jinbaori he wore might look a little out of place in a daily setting. "You can change out of it or just keep it all ob if you want to," Meiko said over him, "But you do kind of look like a cosplayer like that."

"...I don't remember putting this on."

She took a swig and laughed, "Oh, then we should pick something more suited to your tastes!" Now she frowned, touching a fingertip to her lips. "Preferably with a high collar to cover up that cyber suit on you."

His chest was unsurprisingly hard to bang on. "Is there a point to my looks?"

"A point...? If you want money, you have to look good and attract a lot of people. And you do want money, don't you?"

To that, he gave a blank stare. "Why would I want money?"

"Why…?" Meiko put her finger to her lips; the way she was looking at him, she must really care about the uploader's finances. In the next moment she was shaking a now empty bottle, saying, "To buy more sake!"

"I don't drink sake."

Meiko shrugged. "To each their own. Either way, I like to take people shopping, even though I hate shopping." She smiled, running her tongue on the bottle's edge. "I did it for Kaito too."

Gackpo ran a hand through his hair, then, hands getting tangled in the strands. "Well, I didn't say no…"

"Great!" She grabbed his hand. "Consider it your welcome to the home of us, uploaded by Nanimonai-P. Even if there's not a whole lot of space, you'll fit in great."

"Yeah, you'll fit in great," Kaito said from the living room, a burning cigarette already in his mouth.

Holding her hand, he smiled. "Alright." But, he wasn't smiling because he thought it was alright.

Rather, Camui Gackpo smiled wide when led out of the apartment because, somewhere in his heart, he doubted that was true. So much so that it almost made him laugh.


	3. My Style

Staring at himself in the mirror, he couldn't help but think that this other Gackpo was a little more stylish.

If not stylish, then at least able to blend in to a crowd. A more simple grey shirt and black pants, a tie he didn't feel like tightening all the way, and some of the extensions were removed from his headphones to make them blend more into his hair. He just started to shrug on a long black overcoat, completing his choice. It was nice, compared to the monstrosity of his Jinbaori.

And then there was Meiko just behind him the mirror, putting lipstick on with only a few furtive glances towards his own reflection. Her top shirt button had somehow gotten open since they walked into the store. "You like all that? Is that what you're picking out?"

Gackpo zipped the coat up to the throat and looked at himself again in the mirror, suddenly all in black. For a split second he seemed to go cross-eyed, and he rubbed his face to make sure his eyes were adjusted correctly.

Against that black, that purple hair of his looked a bit of a nuisance. He wondered if he could dye it, or if the uploader didn't approve of such a drastic appearance changed. Meiko warned him that he might have to put his Jinbaori back on sometimes, along with whatever else may be required. All the time she was checking her phone, murmuring, "Got it, got it. Got it. Got it," as she piled more clothes on to the cart. Were those for him?

Gackpo let out a breath. "Yes."

"It's kind of gloomy looking, isn't it? Well, I guess it's your business if you want to wear so much dark colors." She leaned on him, one elbow on his shoulder. Gackpo looked at her with a sideways glance and she stepped back, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. "Geeze, you're such a gloomy person."

"On the contrary, I think I'm a very easily entertained person."

The iPhone made another beep; it was another text message. Meiko started texting with a sigh, "I swear, this guy..." Turning, Camui tried to look over her shoulder at what was being said:

 _Have you bought the horns and oni-_

"!"

Meiko's hand was smushing Gackpo's face and she shoved him off balance, "Hey! I don't look at _your_ text messages. I guess that reminds me, though, you got to get a phone. I don't know why you didn't come with one..." She was muttering again as Gackpo picked himself up from the floor, dusting off the windbreaker. Typing furiously, she took a picture of the shopping cart and sent that along as well. "At least that Putin-P guy doesn't keep constantly..."

"Meiko."

She turned back; he was trading the black windbreaker for another.

He looked at her, fiddling with the zipper until the shirt was hidden under black fabric again. "Nanimonai-P...what kind of person is he?"

She brushed a stray strand of hair back, looking back at her phone. "...He...used to go by another name, Sukuriputo-P. Back when the two of us were real famous idols. I guess, whatever you were doing in the past, you didn't know that part." Sending another message, she turned the phone on herself and stepped to get in front of Gackpo. "Okay, smile for Kaito!"

When the picture was sent over, Gackpo's face returned to normal. "You were famous?"

"Before Miku entered the picture, we were pretty famous in Japan."

"...Miku..."

Gackpo's vision crossed again. He placed a hand to his forehead and it stopped. Cocking her head at him, Meiko snapped her fingers in front of his face and grabbed the shopping cart of clothes. "Come on, I have to pay for all this. Take those clothes off," she said.

With the cyber suit underneath, Gackpo didn't feel any need to return to the changing room-as he stripped off all the outer clothing he was just wearing, Meiko put a hand over her eyes and gritted her teeth. "You don't need to do it in front of-ehh."

People were staring. But Gackpo deposited the clothes in the cart. "You were famous?"

"Well-" Beginning to push, Meiko undid another button on her shirt and shrugged. "I guess you could say we went out of fashion when she showed up. We didn't have as much appeal as her younger, prettier looks and more docile attitude. But we were famous, yeah. Me and Kaito, that is, like a couple. Or brother sister team, something like that. Now we're doing okay, but it's not great. And Nanimonai-P now doesn't have anything to his name except some decent Kaito-Meiko songs.

"As for us," Meiko hung her head over the shopping cart. "We haven't had a live gig in years and I have gotten no free sake."

"That's unbearably tragic."

"That's where you come in. Shh," Meiko mussed up her hair and undid another button on the top of her shirt. "I'm going to get us a discount, I know this guy."

As she pushed through to the checkout line, Gackpo watched Meiko with continually widening eyes. Eventually he blinked, rubbing his face, and looked down at himself. Fairly tall, not at all awkward, a sweeping ponytail down his back.

"That's where you come in," that's what Meiko said. Was everything riding on him? Such a scary feeling, ah...And yet not as scary as being sent down to some famous producer who didn't care at all. But he didn't think he'd ever experienced something like that. Thinking of it, Gackpo's heartbeat increased and he made a nasty face. Something like being used by a producer...well, he'd do what he was asked because he didn't have anything else in mind. Not because he can't do what he likes...if he knew, at all, what he himself liked.

"Come on, let's go back home," Meiko called out to him, already past the cashier and stuffing the clothes into bags. "Let's show Kaito the Oni outfit!"

"What Oni outfit..." Gackpo walked out after her, taking a shopping bag or two. Searching himself, he did realize he was also eager to get back to that apartment so he could change out of this outlandish uniform and get some kind of rest. Being introduced to an entirely new home was tiring, especially if he couldn't remember the old one.

Meiko kicked the cart back into the lineup with a crash, "Oh, you know! It's...well, your first song is going to be a cover of the O-"

"I'm _covering_ a song? If he's a producer, shouldn't he be making his own songs?" All of the bags in his arms fell and crumpled.

"Optimistically yeah. Sometimes he makes his own stuff but it's a lot easier to do covers," Meiko said. "Want to get some McDonalds before we go back?"

"...Fast food?"

"To most people, yes."

Across the block from the clothing store was a small dessert cafe, where two children were sitting at a table by the window, each of them having a milkshake. One of them had a dreamy look in her eyes as she sipped her dessert and looked out the window, and one was slumped over in a winter jacket and red scarf, looking tired while his shake melted in the sun. Of all the people milling around in Tokyo those two, along with the newly stepped out Gackpo and Meiko, were the only people wearing headphones.

But for the moment the two didn't stand out enough; Gackpo didn't notice them as he gathered up the bags and, with Meiko, walked right past, into a local McDonalds.

* * *

 **Author's note:** Sorry for the wait! I ended up being delayed by several factors, but hopefully I will update it a bit more regularly.


	4. The Three Ogres

As it turned out, that Oni outfit was something just as outdated in fashion as the Jinboari he was packaged with. It was an elaborate blue, and lavender kimono with dragon patterns, over a black surcoat with long, flowing sleeves and tied shut with a black and red sash. New gold LED lights, too, were part of the costume for him to put over his headphones.

Alongside all that was a grimacing black horned mask, which Gackpo was meant to strap on his face or the side of his head. Although he was still admiring his new clothes in the mirror, he was made with the outfit on not too long after arriving home. There was a dusty full-length mirror propped up on the balcony that they used as he adjusted ties and straps.

The wind was sweeping through and everything moved on the balcony, giving the effect that, something dramatic was happening to the onlooker. But for Gackpo, who was not the onlooker, the wind blowing around his kimono and hair was just annoying.

He leaned back against the opposite end of the balcony to press his clothes against something solid. By the glass door, Meiko was looking at him with Kaito, both with squinting eyes and twitching lips. Gackpo opened the glass door again. "Well?"

"Real scary," Kaito lit his second cigarette. "You'll look great singing Enki in that."

He pulled off the mask and ran his fingers along the ridges of the grimacing monster's cheeks. "What song am I singing in Enki?"

"You, me, and Kaito, we're all singing a cover of 'The Ogre and the Maiden.'"

He frowned at her. "But that song only has one singer, doesn't it?"

"Oh, yeah, all alone I'm the star," Kaito mumbled as he chewed on his cigarette. "But our producer shoehorns in singing roles that aren't worth anything, and gives my lines away to someone else, and thinks choruses are all the rage...!"

...As he then pulled himself up off the floor, Meiko stepped back and took a drink from her bottle. "Calm down Kaito, you'll sing solo on the next one," she said, while Gackpo sat down and kept staring at the mask. "Hey! We all have outfits for it. You want to see mine?"

He set the mask down and looked at them both for a brief moment, Kaito brushing off his clothes and grumbling while Meiko's eyes were shining. That face, he couldn't imagine it on a fierce and ugly Oni. Maybe Kaito's. "If you want."

"Okay!" Meiko hurried into the first room, shutting the screen behind her as she undressed. Kaito was now left alone with the moody Gackpo, who was continuing to study the mask on the table with a fascination he thought unwarranted.

Then, as the bluenet started to loosen his shoulders, Kaito saw those violet eyes shoot up in his direction and stare at him. "..." He'd already been shoved once today. And that guy's eyes were so intense. "...What is it?" Still given no reply, Kaito took the cigarette out of his mouth and pulled the packet out of his back pocket. "Do you want one?"

"I have half a joint from McDonalds. I don't need anything else," Gackpo muttered, resting a hand on his palm as he looked towards the screen. Only a faint silhouette of Meiko could be seen.

In the next minute she stepped out at last, dressed in a gradiant red and pink kimono with a sparkling black sash. On her head was strapped a horned mask of her own, colored white. "Ta-da!"

Like her skirt, the bottom of the kimono didn't reach to her knees. Gackpo was starting to realize that she had actual legs. "Huh."

Kaito took his cigarette out again, his eyes narrowing to slits. " _Huh?_ "

Meiko struck a pose, one foot over the other and one arm above her head. "Hey little bro, put your costume on now!"

"I don't want to," Kaito sat at the opposite end of the table. "He's already got an eyeful, he knows the drill."

She sighed, stepping back to normal, "But I really like your costume." As if trying to get the new Vocaloid in on her tactic she met his eyes with hers while she smiled, but Gackpo kept staring blankly as she talked, "Unless you think that Gackpo's looks better on him."

"Of course it doesn't, as the original singer of the song I'm supposed to be the star!" The chair squeaked, and Kaito's feet struck against the floor, until he reached the first room and pulled the screen shut behind him. Meiko brushed a few strands of hair out of her eyes and put the mask aside. "He didn't used to be that grumpy, you know."

She was right across from him. Again those eyes. Naturally, they were shining because of the lights installed behind them, but it also felt like she was projecting herself through those eyes. His own must look so dull; so far, it didn't feel like he had a self to project. Gackpo looked down quickly. "Huh."

"..." Meiko leaned back in the chair, "So, Gackpo...?"

"..." The screen door slid open again.

The Oni on the table also looked like he had nothing to project, and so he, instead, had his lips pulled back and his gold teeth out as if to distract from his round eyes. Gackpo had never seen someone look so painstakingly unhappy.

"Gha-!"

"Look at my outfit when I put it on, you jerk!" His face smashed into the table and knocking the mask down to the floor, Gackpo heard Kaito's voice just above.

Meiko's, too, "Oh, don't be so rude, little brother!"

"Doesn't even look up when I went to all the trouble!"

"That's not exactly _his_ fault."

"I'm going to rip that mask off and feed it to you." Now Gackpo's fierce face, sitting up, was a perfect match for that black mask on the tiles.

Kaito's face, in the meantime had turned as blue and white as the kimono he wore. "Uh."

Meiko scrambled up on her feet as the sounds of those two tearing across the floor sounded through the little apartment. "Wait! Wait! Don't roughhouse! You'll rip your costumes! Guys!"

* * *

 **Note:** Whoop, that was a longer break than I planned, apologies! School is taking a lot out of me, so I'll try to keep updating more regularly but yeah. I know kind of where I want this story to go, now, better than before, so hopefully that will help!


	5. The Heart-Hearting Beat

_A long, long time ago, it has been told._

Surprisingly, even this voice that didn't seem to project much was also capable of singing and trembling beautifully. But he was doing it, and even more so he was doing it in front of an audience like this. Meiko in the center, he just had to copy her movements. Their uploader wasn't very imaginative, but maybe he would be pleased with the result all the same.

 _The kindhearted blue oni and_

Kaito was, of course, the blue oni. Although he had purple in his hair and eyes, Gackpo ended up as the black ogre all the same, and the red Meiko was the white ogress. Between them, the chorus did sound alright. Gackpo thought it better, though, when they sung separately-and when Kaito wasn't the one singing.

 _The maiden of a village... Their tale..._

Because Meiko's was the most beautiful voice singing tonight. Her voice, which was difficult to use, was the best. That was his opinion, although it didn't seem shared by the people who were barely watching. The people who weren't listening or who were doing something else on their phones. That was the kind of audience that their producer attracted, although it was understandable. This song had been done to death a long time ago.

 _I shall let you hear it_

Still.

 _I shall let you hear it_

Gackpo thought he could sing it well. It was his first song, or so that was what the uploader said to him, but he wasn't having difficulty getting the pitches and timing just right. Even Meiko, too, he thought could sing this song well as she danced onstage.

 _At the end of the village, an entrance of woods..._

Or maybe it wasn't just "singing" that he was impressed by, as he mimicked her movements, but everything about how she held herself. In that kimono with the long sleeves she swirled and danced like an idol-like the idol that she used to be, when their producer wasn't "Nanimonai-P".

That was, he realized, exactly how she held herself onstage-like an idol that was never not an idol. Small in stature and in design, and yet at the same time powerful, that was what Meiko was. Gackpo decided this when he was looking at her in the kimono, with an oni mask on the side of her face.

 _Going beyond that then lies the oni's house_

And he didn't put the oni mask on his face because he wouldn't be able to see her then. Forget about Kaito, who was wearing his own mask properly, the only one to do it. Forget the producer's instructions to put the mask on right to be a contrast to Meiko. His singing would be less muffled like this anyway. Not that a Vocaloid had any problems with singing when wearing a mask...

But soon enough Gackpo thought that maybe he should stop looking, and just focusing on dancing and singing. If he was caught staring at her like that, wouldn't it look bad or, at least, lead to a misunderstanding?

If he put the mask on before the meat of the story it wouldn't look like he was disobeying Nanimonai-P.

 _A lost maiden. Her eyes were blind... and reached the house_

But before he did, he noticed. Meiko's eyes were also darting over at him.

 _Without knowing that was the oni's_

Well what was she looking at _him_ for? Gackpo pulled the mask over his face, and the grimacing visage was all that was left behind.


	6. You'll Like Her

Weeks were passing before he knew it, too. In this small apartment time seemed to move fast. Watching movies on their tiny TV screen with red bean mochi. Practicing tuning and dancing on stage. Watching kabuki for really inspiring moves and costumes. Practicing makeup; it's not that they typically wear any, but somehow Gackpo had no problem taking it on and off. The heavier he put it on, the fiercer and more expressive his face looked.

One of those times Kaito peeked in when he was making up his face, with a cigarette in his mouth. "What the hell you doing?"

His white and black face distorted, "Eh?"

"Nevermind." He popped back in.

Such were some of the ways that he pass time in that home. Not least of which was climbing onto the balcony at night and smoking what he could afford to buy, which wasn't much when they had so little money.

And, too, there was Meiko.

Since the day that he watched her, he had managed yet to stop watching her.

She sang the most out of any of them and was always supporting them, although Kaito would probably be able to help more if he wasn't smoking. But Meiko also drank and drank, if only cheap sake.

On a day Gackpo thought was normal he stumbled over her in the morning, clutching the bottle to her chest, sprawled on the ground and with a smile on her face.

Her cheeks, flushed as they were, were radiant. He was begging her not to wake up yet – but as he was, and leaning over her, her eyes opened.

"W-woah-!" She scrambled back and he fell over by the spot where she was. "Why are you so close all of a sudden!?"

"Uh–wait, it's not like that –"

"Geeeeeze Gackpo!" She sat up and pulled up her legs by the knees. "Are you high?"

He started to stand again. "It – it's not – I would never—"

"Pfff," she also stood, plucking the bottle off the carpet. "Okay calm down."

"Haaa," he rubbed to the redness off his face, mumbling "it wasn't anything."

She flicked the drop of sake at him, "It sure didn't look that way to me~. Hey, where's Kaito?" The smile fell off her face slowly, "Did he go out for a smoke?"

"He said that he was picking up a girl…"

"What girl?" Gackpo watched her wobble to the recyclables and deposit her bottle, rubbing her head. It almost made him not want to answer, if she didn't want to hear it or any noise right now.

"Gumi, she's called."

"Gumi!"

"-!"

She turned back, no longer massaging her temples and with a smile on her face, "Really? Gumi? She hasn't been here in ages, I wonder if the uploader's loaning her for a while!"

"So...who is this Gumi?"

"Oh, she's an old friend," Meiko hummed, walking to the balcony and checking her hair in the mirror. "A really cheery girl, you'll like her."

He stopped, tilting his head, "I'll like her?"

"Sure!" She popped her head back in. "Unless you don't."

It was a trace of a smile on his face all the traces of a hangover were gone from her face and her hair was tidy once again; he looked much worse when he was coming out of a drug high, himself. "I guess I might like her…"

"Yeah! You might be singing with her, so I hope so." Before he could protest, however, her smile fell and she scrunched up her face. "Euuuu, is she coming with just Kaito? Or is it also going to be the uploader? Not in the mood to talk to him this weekend."

The uploader? With five people in this tiny apartment, it was going to get cramped pretty quickly. "I don't… know."

"We might be able to see them come in. How long has he been?"

"Uh..." He stuck his tongue into his cheek as Meiko dashed out to the balcony. What was her rush? Alcoholics were supposed to be sluggish.

"Mmm..." At the balcony a black Clark be seen down below – a beaten black car with three people squished inside. "Oh, shit, there he is."

Gackpo leaned in next to her. "That green haired girl getting out…?"

"That's Gumi!"

The girl was wearing a highschooler's uniform with a plaid orange skirt, white and orange sweater, and long white socks. With that head of green hair and orange clothes, she looked something like a carrot. That wasn't a bad impression as far as impressions go, but she was also hanging on Kaito's arm and laughing, as though anything Kaito said could actually be funny.

"Isn't she cute?"

Meiko was looking at him so pointedly. Gackpo cleared his throat and stood up _. She's not the one whose attention I want._ "Shouldn't we… Go greet them?"

"Oh! Well, yeah. Come on! You should also clean yourself up a bit."

"Ahh..."

The gentle sliding of the door in the frame was just like Meiko, already out to greet the arrivals. Gackpo frantically tied his hair and straightened out his clothing. There was a big stain on a shirt – was it also wine? – so that while Meiko was already out the door he was still busy changing. He was just finishing buttoning up his new too-long shirt when the door open again.

"I thought he'd be right behind me –" Meiko is now being followed by Kaito and the girl called Gumi. "Oh! Okay! When you said 'we' you meant 'just you'."

"Um-"

"Anyway, I want you to come meet this girl. Gackpo, this is Megpoid Gumi. Gumi, meet the newest Vocaloid of Nanimonai-P, Camui Gackpo."

Gumi, looking even more cheery in person, held out a hand to Gackpo with a big smile. But when he awkwardly reached his hand out, she decided to forgo the shake and hug him instead. "Ahh! It's so nice to meet you!"

When she hugged him, a bag that she had on her shoulder jutted into his side.

Meiko was looking at him. Awkwardly because of Gumi's bag, Gackpo hugged the girl back. "It's nice to meet you too…"

"I heard your cover of The Oni and the Maiden online! It was really good!" Gumi took a step back, clasping her hands together. "We're going to be singing together too! I hope that we're just as good together as you were with Kaito and Meiko!"

"We'll be singing together?" Gackpo stared at her dumbly before giving a start, "right, I should – something to eat or drink?"

She giggled. "Oh you don't have to go to any trouble. I'll be staying for about a week. That's a lot of time for us to get to know each other, so don't worry about leaving a first impression."

A week was a long time to spend with someone he didn't know. But Meiko and Kaito seemed relaxed, the latter sitting to smoke and watch TV on the couch. Meiko spoke up from the door, "So the producer is taking you on loan? You think he'd come up here himself."

"Well," Gumi let down her shoulder bag and opened it up; as Gackpo looked it seemed full of label disks. "He sent me up with all of these for the music and beat and lyrics of his new song. That way he doesn't have to be here in person."

"I guess that's more convenient for us," Meiko mused. "Why don't you go show Gackpo and the rest of us what he's got in mind?"

"Oh! Right!" Gumi grabbed hold of one of the CDs and, before Gackpo could protest, she was already popping the disc into a player. Rich, slow music of jazz and piano filled the room which was surprisingly like nothing Gackpo had ever listened to before. _So – it's not a cover…_

"I can't quite remember how the lyrics go off hand," Gumi was saying as the music slowly increased in tempo, "But I think you're supposed to say 'I won't stop' and then 'not even if you want me to'."

"Hah, but when-?"

Gumi's voice rose in pitch, "Oh! Say it now!"

She signaled with her hands. Gackpo hardly had time to take a breath before he tried, "I won't stop.

"N-" Gumi held out a hand again, choking off the rest of the sentence. Only when she put her hand back down did he weakly finish, "Not even if you want me to…"

Meiko smiled his way and Gackpo smiled back.

Then he heard Gumi singing too, "I can't stop. Not even if I wanted to!"

The music went on, moving to a steadier, faster tempo as the song went on, with only Gumi's prompts to guide him.

 _I can't stop_

 _I can't stay awake_

 _there's lots of cars driving around my brain_

 _and that makes it hard to fall asleep_

 _when you know that you're not on top_

 _I won't stop_

 _I won't go to sleep_

 _there's just too much that I want you to see_

 _and it makes it easy to stay awake_

 _when I'm dreaming of so much_

As far as songs went, it didn't impress Gackpo. All the same, like a Vocaloid he fell into the music.

Gumi was a good Vocaloid after all.

Gackpo still preferred Meiko's tune and above all others, but it seemed she wasn't involved in this song. She still clapped for him and Gumi when they both finished, and embarrassed he couldn't help but take a bow.

"Well that was a good first run. How about you take those discs into the other room and we can look over them in time." Meiko said. "Hey, those are a lot of discs for just one song."

"Well it isn't just for one song. Nanimonai-P wanted to get to you some ideas for a new concert or album, all with original songs."

"Could it be, Sukuriputo-P is coming back?" Kaito mused from where he was sitting on the couch. He and Meiko exchanged looks.

Meiko smiled, "Well, but anyway, you can take those into the other room now."

"Sure, sure," Gumi said. She grabbed the bag candle as she headed to the other room – but there was a mistake, she left the bag open. Now all the discs spilled out onto the floor, and Gumi gave a squeak as she ducked down to gather them. "Ahh! Sorry!"

Kaito moved first from the couch, and Gackpo knelt in a bid to beat him to the discs. Gumi smiled at them both gratefully as they balanced discs between the tips of their fingers, sliding them into stubborn holders, so she didn't have to make any effort at all.

As Gackpo looked, he could see one more wedged under the couch. His back to Gumi and Kaito, he pulled the disc out and was about to also hand it over, except that he noticed something.

On the disc there was written "Camui Gackpo – Red Demon"

 _Red...demon...?_

"Gackpo?"

Before he realized it, Gackpo had put the disc up into his wide sleeve. "Huh?"

"I think you got them all," Gumi was smiling at him. "Wanna help me get these to a safe place?"

"Oh-sure."

When he looked up, Gackpo found Meiko also looking at him. Her expression wasn't a smile, and in fact she seemed to be frowning. His face reddened; had she noticed him taking the disc? It was his disc, or at least that had his name on it, so why couldn't he take it? He cleared his throat and stood up. "Right."

He tried an awkward smile in her direction as Gumi led him into the other room, and she gave him an awkward smile that didn't reach her eyes.


	7. Don't Wake Up

Out in the moonlight, the balcony was just bright enough for him to keep studying that disc. If he were to go inside and study it, Kaito or Meiko might question him or Gumi might realize that he stole it from her bag. So he had to keep it hidden until nighttime.

Although, honestly, he didn't know why he was studying it right now. It wasn't like looking at the disc would reveal more than he already knew from the title scrawled on its surface. At the same time, simply looking at it gave him a weird feeling. He wasn't able to determine why, so he continued to look at the disc.

 _Red Demon..._ Just thinking that made him feel cross-eyed. He stuck the disc on his index finger and then stared out at the street, suddenly feeling tired.

The quickest way to learn what this disc was about would be to stick it in his headphones. If it was a new song, he would learn of it from that. On the other hand, if it was something else, like a backup disk, then wouldn't he be wasting it? And that was disregarding the weird way that the title of the disc made him feel. He just wanted to go back to sleep, but he couldn't sleep.

"Gackpo?" He jerked suddenly when he heard his name; it was Meiko. "What are you doing up? Did you get more weed at McDonalds?"

"No..."

He tried to hide the disc under his arm, but she was already standing next to him and spotted it before he had a chance. "Oh! You still have that…" That frown on her face from before was back.

He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to steal."

"You still have it with you, though."

He shifted in place, "Yes... Well, it has my name on it." He held the disc out as though for her to look, even though it would be hard to see the lettering in the dark. Still, she came closer and squinted. "I don't know what that is, but whether it has your name on it or not it still belongs to the uploader. Stealing is a bad habit, you know?"

Hearing how serious she was, Gackpo shook his head. "Yes, I know. I know it's a bad habit. It's not even my habit... I just stole this one thing. I feel like... it's important to me somehow."

The next thing he felt was her hand smacking the back of his head, and he let out a yelp like a dog. "!"

"If it doesn't belong to you, you should return it you idiot. You're going to get Gumi in trouble this way, if she goes back to our producer with one of his songs missing," Meiko snapped, sitting down next to him.

He grunted and rubbed his head, gritting his teeth. "I'm... Sorry. I wasn't thinking of that." Actually, he just hadn't cared. But then, he realized that thieving was a very bad habit. He wasn't a thief. He would try to give it back to her before she left. "Don't worry. I'll make it right."

"As long as you do. I have to say, I've started getting a little worried about you." As she said that, Gackpo looked over at her in the moonlight and felt his heart skip a beat. Worried about him? Why? She kept talking then, "I want so much for you to like it here and get along. Are you doing okay?"

Was he doing okay? Was he getting along? Gackpo didn't know the answer to those questions. So far he's been frustrated again and again, but he thought that he just hadn't been here long enough to start enjoying himself. "It's not that I don't like it here," he started. He kind of wished that somebody could push Kaito into a river, but he didn't mind where he was staying. "I just feel like I'm out of place."

"You shouldn't feel that way." Meiko smiled, and she put her hand on his hand while he leaned back. "We both want to be friends with you. And Gumi too."

Hearing that, he glanced at her face just once before he quickly turned his head away. _Thump. Thump._ "Maybe I just haven't been here long enough. I can't even remember the place that I was before this."

Meiko waved a hand, "Yeah but I think that's normal; I don't have a whole lot of memories of my time either, at least nothing after leaving the factory. Was just being a Meiko unit somewhere," she laughed. "I do know that there were cherry blossoms involved, though."

"There are cherry blossoms in a lot of places," Gackpo remarked as he leaned back, staring at the moon above them. Whenever he tried to think of any images from his past, he went cross-eyed yet again. "Why do they do that? Make us so that we can't remember anything?"

"Oh," Meiko gave a nervous laugh and edged closer to him. "Well... Don't take it that way. It's usually by request. Kaito remembers where he used to be after leaving the factory."

Now Gackpo looked at her in shock. "Why did you ask for your memories to be erased?"

"Why did you ask for yours?"

"... I can't tell you that. I don't remember."

"Exactly, you idiot!" She laughed as she punched him in the arm. Gackpo almost dropped the disc in his hand, and had to take a minute to reaffirm his hold, as her laughter gradually faded. "Look, don't worry about it? Okay? You're a really great singer and we're happy to have you. And that includes Kaito too. And Gumi. You knowww, I think that she's already really smitten with you~."

With all the dirty looks that Kaito gave him out of the corner of his eye, Gackpo somehow doubted that he was happy to have him here. But Meiko and Gumi were both friendly-Gumi especially, come to think of it. And Meiko-was that all that she cared about? Did she see Gumi hanging off of Gackpo's arm and feel no sense of jealousy?

There were things that he wanted to say to Meiko; in his mind, he still saw her the way she was back then, when she was dressed up as the white ogress. That was at least a month ago, and he still hadn't managed to say anything to her. Gackpo looked at his hands and the disc held inside them. "I'll try not to worry about it from now on."

"Good!" She smiled and hit him upside the head again, causing a "!?" from him. But then Meiko stood up and went to the doorway of the balcony. "Now if you're going to try to be a little less gloomy, did you want to come to bed or was there something else you were going to do?"

"Uh," he did have something that he wanted to do right now. "I'll come inside in a minute."

"Remember to put the disc back."

"I will, I will," he muttered.

But he didn't put it back. Long after Meiko had already fallen asleep, he put it in his coat. Then he took out of it two small joints, lit one up, and smoked it in the open air of the balcony.

" _I think that she's already really smitten with you~."_

No, he didn't want to think about that, Meiko's casual dismissal of having any feelings towards him. _La la la, not listening~_

 _La la la, not listening~_

 _La la la, not listening~_

 _I should really just give up._

And he was gradually becoming relaxed. Finally, he went to bed.


End file.
